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What a weird post! Are you dropping acid Robb:)???
I really like this "forum" because we rarely talk about those
jokers from the later part of the 60s. All these poor kids who were
playing surf went off to Vietnam and these hippies started banging
their girlfriends, they got back and were never the same. But I'll
be first to admit I'm a snob and really such a fan of everything pre-
british invasion. There was something about the music(surf and
popular), cars, girls, and clothes styles that seem so familiar to
me.
wrote:
> I like the fact everyone can express their opinions here, be they
right
> (shared with me) or wrong (contradicting mine) (insert emoticon
of your
> choice here)!
>
> On Hendrix... he was incredibly over-hyped for the wrong reasons,
incredibly
> under-hyped for the right reasons. He was a shock to the english
rock
> scene - a BLACK guy playing an even wilder version of the white
version of
> old black men's music (aka - the blues). For the era, he made the
best of
> what he had - usually a pre-CBS Strat (note the headstocks in his
early
> pictures), a Marshall amp (a step up sound pressure wise from the
defacto
> Vox of the area). He DID save the Strat (it and the Tele were
slated for
> phasing out, I guess Buck & Don saved the Tele), for that he
deserves our
> gratitude. His playing was nothing stellar, both Peter Green and
Clapton had
> him covered by a longshot playing blues or 'feeling' music. His
gift was
> flash - he humped mics and amps and wore early american pimp rags
better
> than anyone, and his natural tan didnt hurt either. With all that
said, I
> dearly love some of his stuff but still dislike and cant
understand why
> anyone would appreciate or enjoy the really bad stuff he made. I'd
imagine
> had he lived he would've eventually hated that stuff himself.
After all, he
> was primarily a R&B musician with slight jazz leanings.
>
> Now for his under-hyping - when not tripping on acid or whatever
his drug of
> choice was for the day - he was a hell of a songwriter. Little
Wing, Axis :
> Bold as Love, Hear My Train A'comin and Wind Crys Mary are some of
the
> nicest tunes of the era. Little Wing in particular is a beautiful
chord
> progression, but I've often wondered who copped the changes from
who - be it
> him from George Harrison (something in the way she moves is very
similar) or
> vice versa. Maybe one of you Beatles/Hendrix freaks can say which
came
> first, the chicken or the egg.
>
> I've often wondered how and who we would've worshipped had he
lived, and say
> Johnny Winter died. Winter being the anti-matter to Hendrix (stark
white vs.
> black) yet cut from the same cloth, had way more chops, speed,
dexterity AND
> could play slide like a mofo. Winter could noodle for hours and
remain
> interesting, while anyone that's seen Hendrix's footage from his
last
> performance (Isle of Wight) has to agree that he was about as
inspiring and
> interesting as watching paint dry. If this was a sign of things to
come, he
> would've surely been back on the chitlin circuit by 1973. Or,
while we're
> fantasizing, could Robin Trower and the other guitar heroes that
built on
> what Hendrix started, revitalized him? Would SRV have brought him
back from
> obscurity or made him break his guitar in frustration? Things that
make you
> go hmmm.
>
> The irony of Hendrix, Morrison and Joplin all dying so close
together has
> always struck me as the final clunk sound of the door to the 60's
closing.
> Hendrix and Morrison were fading fast, Joplin appeared to be as
well, yet
> her signature song would come out weeks after her death. She, I
never cared
> for in the least... yet two of the most talented and least
appreciated
> losses of music had similar fates - Otis Redding and Jim Croce.
Otis with
> Sitting On The Dock of the Bay and Croce with Time In A Bottle,
were weeks
> away from superstardom... only to be silenced just short of it.
Damn. Latter
> day repeats of this proportion would come in the form of Lyrynd
Skynyrd and
> SRV. Double Damn.
>
> And here we are today, our ears bleeding from the sounds of the
Simpson
> girls, (c)rap, and other audible crimes against humanity. The
Doors and Jimi
> would not even have a chance today, if you have even a sliver of
talent you
> can not get on the radio. It's a fact!
>
> On Morrison and the Doors... Seems to be a 50/50 cut here in Surf
CIty as to
> if they were heroes or zeroes. I'll give Manzarek and Krieger
their due for
> writing a few interesting melodies, and I'll give Jim his due for
being the
> most enigmatic male rock stage performer of his era. His
mysterious way is
> what endeared him. Yet like most circus acts, once you seen it, it
gets
> boring. I seriously doubt had he lived on, his stinky leather
pants and
> pseudo-penis gimmicks would've had many miles left in them.
>
> Where does that leave us???
>
> Thanking God, Buddha, Leo Fender or whoever your diety of choice
is that
> Dick Dale, Nokie Edwards, Paul Johnson, etc etc etc lived and
either gave or
> is still giving us great music. Give them a handshake, email or
$20 next
> time you see them!
>
> Ok, flame war over. Does anyone else smell bacon? Hmmm...
>
> sizzlin,
> Robb
